James Harden is among the best players in the NBA and may just be one of the All-Time best scorers. Since the Rockets stumbled upon him back in 2012, they have been squarely in the Championship race season after season.
Unfortunately, they haven’t got much to show for it.
Eight years after the Harden trade and the Rockets still have not made a single Finals appearance. Now, after getting embarrassed by the Lakers, with few assets left to trade and their stars growing older, it seems the window might be closed for this team unless they make some kind of major move.
Russell Westbrook, Robert Covington, Eric Gordon, and pretty much everyone not named James Harden is believed to be on the trade block. As for “The Beard,” it’s hard to imagine Daryl Morey moving on from him, but it doesn’t mean other executives agree with that mindset.
According to an Eastern Conference executive who spoke to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, H-Town should at least consider moving on from their superstar guard.
That’s probably a step further than the Rockets are willing to go. Harden keeps the Rockets on national television and in the playoffs. Several teams believe Westbrook is available, but they’ve received no indication from Houston that Harden is anything but untouchable.
“Everything should be on the table, including moving Harden,” said the second Eastern Conference executive.
As an 8x All-Star, NBA MVP, and 7x All-NBA Player, Harden would net quite a return in the trade market for Houston. If they do decide to trade him, you can expect a haul of picks and/or young players.
It’d be a total rebuild and one that is necessary in the eyes of many. The question is: do Morey and the Rockets front-office see it that way?
